Richard Jordan Gatling - Indianapolis IN - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis IN in Section 3, Lot 9. The inscription on the plaque at his mausoleum is: Richard Jordan Gatling inventor of the Gatling Gun. Born Hertford Co. North Carolina Sept. 12th, 1818. Died New York City. Febr. 26th, 1903.
The highest honors that the world can boast are subjects far too low for my desire. The brightest beams of glory are at most incomplete compared to my belief in the immortality of the soul.

Description: From Find A Grave: Inventor. Born on the family plantation in Como, Hertford County, North Carolina. The son of a farmer and inventor, Gatling distinguished himself early in life as a successful inventor. At 21 he had invented the screw propeller for steamboats, only to discover that someone else had recently and independently patented it. He also invented a rice-sowing machine, a wheat drill, a hemp brake and a steam plow. Gatling graduated from Ohio Medical College in 1850, but never practiced medicine and was always more interested in continuing his career as an inventor. He is best known, however, as the inventor of the Gatling gun. In 1862 Gatling took out a patent for a mechanical gun that he had developed and founded the Gatling Gun Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Gatling gun consisted of six gun barrels mounted on a revolving frame, fastened in a parallel position to a central shaft. It was powered by a hand crank and cartridges were set into the breech through an arrangement called a hopper. A later version of the gun with ten barrels fired 320 rounds a minute. The United States Army purchased these guns in 1865 and a few saw action at the end of the Civil War. Over the next several years, most major armies in Europe purchased the gun. In 1870 Gatling opened a new factory in Hartford, Connecticut to produce the gun. He continued to improve the gun and by 1882 it could fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute. However, sales of the gun declined after Hiram Maxim began producing his automatic Maxim Machine Gun. The company merged with Colt Firearms Co. in 1897. The U.S. Army used the Gatling gun through the Spanish-American War, but declared it obsolete by 1911. Gatling died in New York City in 1903. Date of birth: 09/12/1818 Date of death: 02/26/1903 Area of notoriety: Science/Technology Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: None Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log   10/09/2021 Don.Morfe visited it